overnight along the appalachian trail & lake.

[JV3]

old farming equipment?






spotted this bug with ginormous fake eyes...i'm watching you watching me watch you!








i wonder if there's enough flat spot on that island to overnight on.




first real outing with this ultralight tarp. my assumption was correct - the semi see-through material acted like a greenhouse. it's good for the winter but on this trip, it was letting too much sunlight/heat through for my liking...on days above 70° f i have to pick a really shady area or bring a different tarp (i really hate hot weather, give me winter anyday!).




i've never seen so many of these dragonflies in the same area...mating season perhaps? there were a dozen of them at any given time swirling about but they were very skitish and flew away as soon as they sensed i was near.






first time seeing a bluish/purple one as well. these guys were even more skitish than the green ones! it took me maybe 50 shots and an hour of stalking them just to get this one usable shot.




chipmunks, however, just love the camera.




been cutting back on weight these past few weeks...a lightweight backpack is next and i'll be in the sub-20 lbs load out with food and water.






relaxing, cody lundin-style.

[JV3]

after lunch i started wandering around camp.



burn area? the grass is not greener on the other side!




wander around enough and you're bound to find another stealth camp site.




...or two. this one's a good camp fire reflector for the winter.




no idea what type.




the top part has that melted chocolate flowing thing to it.






sasquatch spotting!




anyway, back at camp the welcoming party didn't take long. i was told as a kid they'll give you a very itchy rash but i never really came in contact with one before.




i wasn't in the mood to test that theory so out comes my bug net.




i was hoping for a sunset view but this is the wrong spot - the sun went down behind the mountain facing my back.










...anyway, i'm half way to my goal of a monthly overnighter for an entire year.

[jcl-MD]

Great Pics Man!

Thanks

[coaldigger]

Nice pics 'Ol Bud ! That pic of th hairy little catapillar you posted....Rash....My brother stepped on one when he was a kid, it gave him a very painful sting...leaving him with a permanent scar...looks like mini dozer tracks on the bottom of his foot ! Note to self...leave the hairy catapillars alone !

[russamurai]

Great looking wildlife! You got a bracket fungus, don't know which but she's a beaut.Really looks gorgeous out there.

[KYenglish]

Great pictures, always look forward to your posts, make me feel all calm inside

[TheGame]

Well, glad it wasn't one of those caterpillars I put on a fishing hook last year at my nephews birthday party then

Thanks for the pics, and lack of spider pics.

[scruffuk]

Wonderful pics amigo, thanks for perservering with the bug shots too, they are terrific.

You really are lookign to get so much camp time in this year...I'm pretty envious...and more so now I've seen yours (and a few others?) camp spot.

Much obliged....and here's to the second half of your quest!

scruff

[kvaughn]

That old equipment is from mining I believe.--KV

[KBamhi]

Great pics. I have tried quite a few of the pouch foods although I though the beef stew tasted like cat hurl. Luckily my buddy had a bottle of tabasco in his pack and I added enough to make my eyes water and managed to choke it down.

[CR33]

Amazing pics. Would that be Sunfish Pond?

[crossada]

Great pics!

[KuRUpTD]

Beautiful spot you picked - I REALLY need to get out

[Daddyo16]

Very nice photos. Which section of the AT is that?

Did a two day/night hike back in July 2004 with some scouts and other adults from our local BSA troop. Hiked from Sam's Gap to Spivey Gap around the Erwin, TN area, and it was surprisingly cool for the middle of the summer. We didn't meet a single person in the 2 days we were on the trail.

[wintermute]

That's a gypsy moth catepillar. Nasty invasive buggers. Next time you see one, kill it. I broke out in hives once from handling one when I was a kid.

[Runsalone]

Two things Im thinking having read this thread.

1 A monthly weekend trip might should be MANDANTORY for me as well, thats genious!

2 I shoulda bought an orange Milie when I had the chance.

Great pics! Making me consider what I might should do with my weekend.....

[JV3]

Great Pics Man!

Thanks

thanks, man!

Nice pics 'Ol Bud ! That pic of th hairy little catapillar you posted....Rash....My brother stepped on one when he was a kid, it gave him a very painful sting...leaving him with a permanent scar...looks like mini dozer tracks on the bottom of his foot ! Note to self...leave the hairy catapillars alone !

thanks, man! good thing i didn't try to eat it

Great looking wildlife! You got a bracket fungus, don't know which but she's a beaut.Really looks gorgeous out there.

thanks!

Great pictures, always look forward to your posts, make me feel all calm inside

thanks!

Well, glad it wasn't one of those caterpillars I put on a fishing hook last year at my nephews birthday party then

Thanks for the pics, and lack of spider pics.

you're welcome. i saw a couple of spiders around my gear and tried to take pics but they were fast movers and hid quickly!

Wonderful pics amigo, thanks for perservering with the bug shots too, they are terrific.

You really are lookign to get so much camp time in this year...I'm pretty envious...and more so now I've seen yours (and a few others?) camp spot.

Much obliged....and here's to the second half of your quest!

scruff

thanks, man! i've had a lot of hobbies over the years (usually each one lasted 6 months or so and i move on: aquariums, reptiles, guns, painting, kayaking, etc.) but i like hiking/camping more and more ever since i joined this forum two years ago.

That old equipment is from mining I believe.--KV

i see, thanks!

Great pics. I have tried quite a few of the pouch foods although I though the beef stew tasted like cat hurl. Luckily my buddy had a bottle of tabasco in his pack and I added enough to make my eyes water and managed to choke it down.

thanks! you're talking to a guy who eats chicken feet and stuff anything tastes really good to me! i do carry hot pepper flakes and i put it on everything.

Amazing pics. Would that be Sunfish Pond?

thanks! island pond lake.

Great pics!

thanks!

Beautiful spot you picked - I REALLY need to get out

thanks! that's actually riley's spot that he showed me last year.

Very nice photos. Which section of the AT is that?

Did a two day/night hike back in July 2004 with some scouts and other adults from our local BSA troop. Hiked from Sam's Gap to Spivey Gap around the Erwin, TN area, and it was surprisingly cool for the middle of the summer. We didn't meet a single person in the 2 days we were on the trail.

thanks! it's in the southern tip of harriman/north nj. i saw a couple of other hikers on this trip but most of the trails here are usually empty unless it's one of the major holidays.

That's a gypsy moth catepillar. Nasty invasive buggers. Next time you see one, kill it. I broke out in hives once from handling one when I was a kid.

ah, got it. thanks!

Two things Im thinking having read this thread.

1 A monthly weekend trip might should be MANDANTORY for me as well, thats genious!

2 I shoulda bought an orange Milie when I had the chance.

Great pics! Making me consider what I might should do with my weekend.....

thanks! i've had that orange one for two years i think and i'm surprised it got discontinued...it was one of kgd's threads actually where he mentioned doing a monthly overnighter and i just copied him speaking of kgd, i haven't seen him post in awhile

[HikingMano]

Thanks for sharing another trip Looks like it was a nice and relaxing outing.

[...]
first real outing with this ultralight tarp. my assumption was correct - the semi see-through material acted like a greenhouse. it's good for the winter but on this trip, it was letting too much sunlight/heat through for my liking...on days above 70° f i have to pick a really shady area or bring a different tarp (i really hate hot weather, give me winter anyday!).
[...]

Hmm, you must be more sensitive to it, with all your aversion to heat Like I said before, I haven't noticed too much of a problem, it's always cooler under than outside the tarp shade. Next time I'll take my dual-temp probe out and actually check, haha . Anyway, the weather looked pretty mild/calm for your outing, so I'm thinking if you had pitched higher you would have been more comfortable (looks to be a wooded enough area for you to find large enough branches to help).


This day was high 80's at least, maybe got into the low 90's in the afternoon. Note the lofty pitch

[22-rimfire]

I enjoyed your photos. The insect shots are pretty good. But the landscape shots are the ones that make you want to go there and hang out as they seem to give you a good feel for the terrain and so forth.

[grunt soldier]

great pics as always sir. beautiful area you get to play in so often.